Drive Coach Training

[MaxMax161]

A ton of great advice has been mentioned above, but I think this point has been very undervalued.

- Train your drivers

In my humble opinion, training so that your drivers drive the robot as perfectly as it can be driven is the most valuable thing a coach can do. This is not easy and requires knowing exactly what to say to each driver and what drills to run. In my experience these skills come from knowing your drivers and the robot inside out and backwards.

Knowing your drivers and robot this well will also help you on the field. You will know exactly what your robot can and can't do, how it can fit in with the alliance, and most importantly what you want to happen can most quickly be communicated to the drivers and they can do it.

I don't mean to undermine any of the above advice by not repeating it; I just don't want to be redundant. Good luck and if there's any other way I can help feel free to ask.

[GiannaLeigh3]

There really isn't one particular style that works best. Finding the right strategy for your team is necessary, and not universal for all teams. Some teams like having a drive coach tell them lots of information but, ours didn't. We would get stressed and overloaded if he told us what other teams were doing or if he gave us a lot of information all at once. I suggest trying out different methods of communication or hand signals, and talking with your drive team once they get selected about what they like and dislike. A good drive coach/driver relationship is based on equal trust, respect and good open communication.

[Kyle Love]

Pre-match planning is my number one priority. Be sure to get drivers and other teams that you are with that match on the same page. Have a general plan and flow pattern set up before you step up to the sticks.

Practice before the competition is a big thing, also. The more hands on practice you can squeeze in the better. As a high school driver, I found that the operator, coach and I had a fairly calm, semi-silent way of doing things. We developed an intuition with each other so that we could think like each other and know what we should do. This also happens when you create a "play book" of sorts. Have common general goals from match to match.

I agree with what Adam said about being a time keeper and motivator. No matter how stacked the odds are against you, as soon as the match starts, it's a level playing field, things happen, robots may not move etc. NEVER go into a match with a negative attitude. Any match can be won by any alliance on any day. Sometimes the drivers don't look at the game clock, I would suggest developing a system where you tell them common times (1 minute, 30 sec, 15 sec and then count down from 5). Even though there may be field sounds to tell you such info, sometimes the drivers don't hear them.

Just remember to stay calm, "loud talking" may be needed at times, stay positive, and never place blame for an outcome on one person, this is a team effort.